One Night Stand has a singular goal - to capture the awkwardness of waking up in a stranger's bed, with a pounding headache and no memory of the night before. Over the next 20 minutes, you will slowly piece together how you ended up there, as well as learn about the girl whose company you've found yourself in.
Lucy Blundell, the creator, reportedly got the idea for One Night Stand while imagining the reason behind a dour man's mood on the train. She obviously put a lot of heart into it, too. It stands as an interesting peek into the mind of a developer who we've not yet seen again. While it is not a particularly great game, it is a promising one to see from a dev breaking out on her own. I hope she does release a new project in the future; I'd like to see how she's evolved in the years since ONS.
SHORT REVIEW
Visuals: 3/5
Audio: 2.5/5
Story: 3/5
Gameplay: 2.5/5
Worldbuilding: 3.5/5
Overall game score: 3/5 [2.9/5]
IN-DEPTH REVIEW
Visuals:
While ONS' art direction is generally nice, it does - unfortunately - have a few glaring flaws that bring it down a lot for me. Particularly, the mooted pastel colors make the visuals very muddy. Nothing stands out from its surroundings because of it. I also found the shaky lines of Robin's sprite to be an eyesore, rather than a cool stylistic choice.
That being said, the rotoscoped animations of Robin are just beautiful. You rarely see many fleshed-out animations in indie titles; meanwhile, ONS has multiple, all of which are extremely charming and expressive. They add a lot of character to her - character that might be completely absent otherwise.
Overall, 3/5.
Audio:
Fairly average in this department, ONS sports a few decent background tracks and middle-of-the-road sound effects. The little song you get to hear if you earn the best ending is pretty nice, if simple.
Story:
One Night Stand sets out illustrate a 'day-after' experience, with all the discomfort and embarrassment such a thing entails - especially when you can't even remember the encounter. Your only goals are to learn about the girl you've slept with, and to figure out how you ended up with her in the first place.
This is a really intriguing idea for a short visual novel to me. It fits the genre perfectly, with its straightforward, but interaction-heavy, premise. I find it engaging when games hone in on a more 'human' topic that isn't often directly addressed in the medium. My favorite recent example of this is Florence, which has a near-perfect execution of this concept. On the other hand, ONS definitely has its flaws and trips up in places - but I still really dig the idea behind it.
I will say that ONS succeeds very well at portraying the exact vibe it's going for. The dialogue, while stiff at times, is both cute and palpably awkward. Robin is a likeable and pretty character, with a surprisingly fleshed-out personality (for the very short length.) And there are many ways your time together can end, from getting kicked out naked to becoming actual friends.
The most important factor in making the story work is the tie between it and the gameplay. You can only interact with so many items in a single run; which ones you choose will influence what you can bring up as a conversation piece. Additionally, whether you snoop or not influences which ending you get. The ability to control bits of the narrative, as well as where the story ultimately goes, makes it a much more satisfying experience.
Speaking of the endings, there are twelve total (with some slight variations in the mix too.) The rather drastic differences between them is quite impressive. My only issue is that there's not enough disparity in the runs' dialogue to warrant seeing all of them... which is something I will continue discussing in gameplay.
Overall, 3/5.
Gameplay:
While the sheer number of endings is something to praise, I found it difficult to be excited about each new playthrough. You actions DO influence certain bits of conversation and how the game ends, that much is true. But a majority of the story beats and interactions still remain the same. This, coupled with the fact that ONS is so short (15 minutes a playthrough), means you spend a lot of time rereading the same lines over and over.
That being said, I do really like that you can only interact with so many items in a single run. The ones you choose will play into possible dialogue, giving access to interesting tidbits about Robin's life. This does make two or three playthroughs worthwhile, to at least see what everything has to offer.
Overall, 2.5/5.
Worldbuilding:
The worldbuilding is by far ONS' strongest suit. Robin is a reasonably fleshed-out character for the short length of the game; her room is realistically lived-in, with many personal belongings strewn about that give insight into who she is as a person. The followup dialogue only adds more flavor.
In fact, learning about her is the most engaging part of the game. [SPOILERS] There's her interests in music, concerts, vinyl, reading, and writing. You can ask about her relationship with her brother. There are hints that she may be LGBT+. [SPOILER END] She's probably not a character I'll remember down the line, but I appreciate how much these things enrich the immediate experience.
Overall, 3.5/5.
Overall game score: 3/5. One Night Stand is simple in both aim and execution. It has things it does fairly well, but it also has a lot of flaws, too. Unfortunately, it will end up being another one of these random Steam buys that I won't remember much down the line - save for the very lovely animations on Robin. Still, I DO think it's a good start for a new solo dev, and I hope that Lucy continues to improve her work.
Lucy Blundell, the creator, reportedly got the idea for One Night Stand while imagining the reason behind a dour man's mood on the train. She obviously put a lot of heart into it, too. It stands as an interesting peek into the mind of a developer who we've not yet seen again. While it is not a particularly great game, it is a promising one to see from a dev breaking out on her own. I hope she does release a new project in the future; I'd like to see how she's evolved in the years since ONS.
SHORT REVIEW
Visuals: 3/5
Audio: 2.5/5
Story: 3/5
Gameplay: 2.5/5
Worldbuilding: 3.5/5
Overall game score: 3/5 [2.9/5]
IN-DEPTH REVIEW
Visuals:
While ONS' art direction is generally nice, it does - unfortunately - have a few glaring flaws that bring it down a lot for me. Particularly, the mooted pastel colors make the visuals very muddy. Nothing stands out from its surroundings because of it. I also found the shaky lines of Robin's sprite to be an eyesore, rather than a cool stylistic choice.
That being said, the rotoscoped animations of Robin are just beautiful. You rarely see many fleshed-out animations in indie titles; meanwhile, ONS has multiple, all of which are extremely charming and expressive. They add a lot of character to her - character that might be completely absent otherwise.
Overall, 3/5.
Audio:
Fairly average in this department, ONS sports a few decent background tracks and middle-of-the-road sound effects. The little song you get to hear if you earn the best ending is pretty nice, if simple.
Story:
One Night Stand sets out illustrate a 'day-after' experience, with all the discomfort and embarrassment such a thing entails - especially when you can't even remember the encounter. Your only goals are to learn about the girl you've slept with, and to figure out how you ended up with her in the first place.
This is a really intriguing idea for a short visual novel to me. It fits the genre perfectly, with its straightforward, but interaction-heavy, premise. I find it engaging when games hone in on a more 'human' topic that isn't often directly addressed in the medium. My favorite recent example of this is Florence, which has a near-perfect execution of this concept. On the other hand, ONS definitely has its flaws and trips up in places - but I still really dig the idea behind it.
I will say that ONS succeeds very well at portraying the exact vibe it's going for. The dialogue, while stiff at times, is both cute and palpably awkward. Robin is a likeable and pretty character, with a surprisingly fleshed-out personality (for the very short length.) And there are many ways your time together can end, from getting kicked out naked to becoming actual friends.
The most important factor in making the story work is the tie between it and the gameplay. You can only interact with so many items in a single run; which ones you choose will influence what you can bring up as a conversation piece. Additionally, whether you snoop or not influences which ending you get. The ability to control bits of the narrative, as well as where the story ultimately goes, makes it a much more satisfying experience.
Speaking of the endings, there are twelve total (with some slight variations in the mix too.) The rather drastic differences between them is quite impressive. My only issue is that there's not enough disparity in the runs' dialogue to warrant seeing all of them... which is something I will continue discussing in gameplay.
Overall, 3/5.
Gameplay:
While the sheer number of endings is something to praise, I found it difficult to be excited about each new playthrough. You actions DO influence certain bits of conversation and how the game ends, that much is true. But a majority of the story beats and interactions still remain the same. This, coupled with the fact that ONS is so short (15 minutes a playthrough), means you spend a lot of time rereading the same lines over and over.
That being said, I do really like that you can only interact with so many items in a single run. The ones you choose will play into possible dialogue, giving access to interesting tidbits about Robin's life. This does make two or three playthroughs worthwhile, to at least see what everything has to offer.
Overall, 2.5/5.
Worldbuilding:
The worldbuilding is by far ONS' strongest suit. Robin is a reasonably fleshed-out character for the short length of the game; her room is realistically lived-in, with many personal belongings strewn about that give insight into who she is as a person. The followup dialogue only adds more flavor.
In fact, learning about her is the most engaging part of the game. [SPOILERS] There's her interests in music, concerts, vinyl, reading, and writing. You can ask about her relationship with her brother. There are hints that she may be LGBT+. [SPOILER END] She's probably not a character I'll remember down the line, but I appreciate how much these things enrich the immediate experience.
Overall, 3.5/5.
Overall game score: 3/5. One Night Stand is simple in both aim and execution. It has things it does fairly well, but it also has a lot of flaws, too. Unfortunately, it will end up being another one of these random Steam buys that I won't remember much down the line - save for the very lovely animations on Robin. Still, I DO think it's a good start for a new solo dev, and I hope that Lucy continues to improve her work.